Pirates aim for gains as Icelanders choose new government

A member of the Pirate Party holds leaflets in Reykjavik, Iceland, Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2016, during a campaigning event. According to polls the Piratar (Pirate) Party, an anti-authoritarian band of buccaneers that wants to shift power from government to people, is one of the front-runners in the Oct. 29, election triggered by financial scandal in a country still recovering from economic catastrophe. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
(The Associated Press)

Senior Pirate party lawmaker Birgitta Jonsdottir speaks during an interview before the Iceland Parliamentary elections in Reykjavik, Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2016. According to polls the Piratar (Pirate) Party, an anti-authoritarian band of buccaneers that wants to shift power from government to people, is one of the front-runners in the Oct. 29, election triggered by financial scandal in a country still recovering from economic catastrophe. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
(The Associated Press)

General view at the Iceland's parliament, Althing, at centre, in Reykjavik, Iceland, Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2016, ahead of upcoming Parliamentary Elections. Elections will be held in Iceland on Oct. 29, 2016, with the an anti-authoritarian Piratar (Pirate) Party as one of the front-runners according to public polls. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
(The Associated Press)

REYKJAVIK, Iceland – Icelanders are preparing to vote in a national election, with the radical Pirate Party hoping to unseat the center-right government.

The Pirate Party, founded four years ago by an assortment of hackers, political activists and Internet freedom advocates, has made big gains among Icelanders fed up with established parties after years of financial crisis and scandal.

Polls suggest the Pirates are vying with the center-right Independence Party to become the biggest group in Iceland's parliament, the Althingi.

The election was called after then-Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson resigned in April amid protests over his offshore holdings, revealed in the Panama Papers leak.

Polls open at 9 a.m. (0900GMT) Saturday, with about 245,000 Icelanders eligible to vote. Voting ends at 10 p.m. (2200GMT), with partial results due early Sunday.